All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11, NIV)

Its hard building part of something. Our culture celebrates success, evidence of value and a good finale. So often, though, we are but a part of something bigger and won’t always get to enjoy the buzz of a first idea, the joy of seeing it grow and the satisfaction and glory of the end product.

Perhaps you will start something that someone else will finish. Perhaps you will finish something someone else worked hard to develop. Perhaps you will be somewhere in the middle - neither the pioneer nor the finisher -keeping the dream alive. 

The Bible speaks of God’s delight in those who pursued his promises even when they weren’t themselves going to inherit the fruit of them. Abraham, Moses, these men trusted that what God had promised was not only going to come true but that it was worth throwing their everything at, even if it came to fullness on someone else’s watch.

What are the things that God is promising for your student ministry? Are you prepared to throw your all behind those things whether or not you’re the one who sees them through to completion? Are you willing to be a part in an amazing plan that’s so much bigger than your bit of it?

It can be hard to be only a part of a plan. Perhaps your part will be forgotten, faded amidst the big picture, but you will have built something of eternal value, of lasting impact and God will love walking that journey with you towards his great purposes.